Interpol’s Global Security Initiative (GSI), which focusses on international security challenges, has been given free use of a Microsoft tool called COFEE to help the fight against cyber crime.

COFEE stands for Computer Online Forensics Evidence Extractor and Microsoft has handed it to Interpol’s 187 participating countries for free. The application is designed to help scene of the crime officers gather computer evidence in-situ and quickly. This type of evidence is regarded as volatile and not as efficiently collected as traditional forensic evidence. Microsoft hope that by giving Interpol COFEE, it will go a long way to help combating the spread of cyber crime.

Interpol hope that by using such a sophisticated tool as COFEE, they will take a major step forward in being able to assess the significance of what they find on computers and on other electronic devices.

Interpol was formed in 1923 as the International Criminal Police Commission and changed its name to the International Criminal Police Organisation in 1956. Based in Lyon, France, it’s membership provides it with an annual budget of some $60 million.

Guest Article by Neil Camp